


for a heart that is broken makes a beautiful sound

by jikarico



Series: The Things I Regret [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fainting, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, No Lesbians Die, No? Okay then, Not Beta Read, Sleep Deprivation, Spoilers: Volume 8 (RWBY), a lil Blood, blake is concerned, dont worry, frozen steel is just a little something i added, haha weiss got tubed, i will hold my ground on that, nora is best girl, oscar got s n a t c h e d, rip to oscar, soft, that grimm amirite, why is a summary i hate it, yang has regret, yang honey u done pining?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:14:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27568861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jikarico/pseuds/jikarico
Summary: All of their Aura was low, they were running out of bullets and dust. But those weren't the only reason.Yang's eyelids were feeling heavy.-As she checked the bars showing the percentage of Aura they had, Yang's was promptly depleted. Within a second it went from full to less than half. It was getting lower by the second.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Nora Valkyrie, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Series: The Things I Regret [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022802
Comments: 15
Kudos: 157





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in under 2 hours. Yay? 
> 
> Anyway hope you enjoy. I might've made a few mistakes, if so please tell me!

Sounds of revving engines could be heard all over Mantle, even though no one was there to listen to them. Three hoverbikes drove quickly through the streets, crossing and snapping into the right direction when a corner was seen. It was hard, though. Following something that was flying while being stuck to the ground. It felt almost unfair, but nothings been fair since they've arrived in Solitas.

Betrayal, chaos, death, secrets; Atlas has it all! The _thing_ that took Oscar is just another addition to their collection. It was like no Grimm any of them had ever seen before. Mutating wings on its back, shattering Oscar's Aura within seconds, _talking_. Not one of them knew what it was, and they were scared to find out. None more so than Yang.

Out of her, Jaune and Ren, Yang got the closest to it. Its hand (Paw?) wrapped around her head, its skin had a glue-like texture to it, but Yang couldn't focus on how it felt because she was forced to know how her body felt being thrown into a wall at top speed. Her back smashed against the brick of the wall, causing her back to crash with an ugly snap. Despite the pain in her back, she had enough sense to stop Jaune from hurting Oscar, telling him that the Grimm was using the boy as a shield.

Now they were chasing that thing. It had Oscar within its teeth, _literally_. Watching it grow wings scared the three, but seeing its fangs bite either side of Oscar's body, holding him tightly, horrified them beyond compare.

Deep inside of her, Yang knew they wouldn't get Oscar back. It was just too strong for them to stop, let alone fight. All of their Aura was low, they were running out of bullets and dust. But those weren't the only reason.

Yang's eyelids were feeling heavy. Combined with her lack of Aura and the pain in her body, Yang felt weak; her body was giving up on her. She was struggling to stay awake, her head bobbing down then snapping up every second or so. Yang looks up, her eyes trying to focus on the Grimm their tracking, but all she sees are blurs in her vision.

Things were getting dark now. The edges of her eyesight were a fogging up with a black haze. Yang feels numb as her eyes flicker between the road and the Grimm, getting the two confused with each other. Her shoulders sag down wearily, her arms feel heavy to keep lifting up, and so does her head. So without thinking, Yang lets go.

Her body tilts off her bike, slamming on the hard ground below. No one comes to her aid, she realises after a few moments. Ren and Jaune must've taken over Yang's lead while she was on the verge of blacking out. In the distance, she hears the engines of the boys and the Grimm howling in the sky. But Yang lies still, unmoving. A few drops of blood run down her forehead. She must've scraped it while she toppled off her bike.

Her bike must've crashed into something, due to the faint smell of smoke in the air. The engine was still going, the front of the vehicle digging into a wooden wall just some meters away from Yang. 

While her body was immovable, her eyes still darted to what little she could see. A broken house, a busted lamp post, a large boulder in between two buildings, but that was it. Yang tried to lift her body but gave up eventually, as it wouldn't support her due to the exhaustion. 

However, her right arm could be moved, barely though. Yang used her arm to roll her on her back, it protested the pressure the new position gave to her bruises. The blood starts to drip down the side of her face, dyeing her hair an awful crimson.

After letting out a pained sigh, Yang finally closes her eyes, but not for long. She needs to see something first. Her right-hand pats on the pockets of her jacket, pulling out what Yang wants. Yang can't see the photo, but she knows what's on it. Her thumb rubs up and down on the picture of her teammates, slowly, as to not rip it. Her head tilts to the side, her eyes being able to _just_ see her partner's face. Unknowingly, Yang smiles. Even when she not with her, Blake still calms Yang during the most stressful times. But soon that smile disappears, replaced with a frown. The last Yang saw of Blake was in the safe house when she and Ruby argued with each other. During then, from the corner of her eye, she saw Blake's heartbroken face when Yang told everyone she was leaving. Only now does Yang understand why Blake chose to go with Ruby and the others instead of her; _Yang broke their promise. Yang left_ her _this time._

Any energy that Yang had immediately depleted. The realisation of her mistakes causes Yang to remember how she felt after Beacon fell. She felt hurt and betrayed, pained and abandoned. Now Blake might be feeling something similar. The thought of hurting her partner caused a feeling of guilt to stab Yang in the heart, her emotions spilling everywhere.

_Was this how Blake felt back then too?_

Tears welled in her eyes. Yang closes them, letting the drops fall. Slowly, her body starts to go limp, her head rests on the ground, as does her mechanical arm. Yet her prosthetic hand still holds her picture, with the intent to never let it go.

Soon, Yang loses consciousness, the last image in her mind being Blake's beautiful smile.

* * *

They were in Atlas. After going through a tube for three minutes each, Ruby, Weiss, Nora, Penny, May and Blake made it into a large storage area undetected.

While they were deciding what to do after they leave, Blake pulls out her Scroll. She left the home screen as a way to see her team's Aura levels. As she checked the bars showing the percentage of Aura they had, Yang's was promptly depleted. Within a second it went from full to less than half. It was getting lower by the second. The colour from Blake's face drained, her ears pinned back in fear. From the side, Weiss notices this. 

The Schnee walks away from Ruby, stopping behind Blake to look over her shoulder. Tired blue eyes find the reason for Blake's quiet panic, and she gasps in surprise.

"Yang..." Weiss places a hand over her mouth. Shocked that something could knock Yang down so quickly. "What's happening over there?" She looks to Blake, whose hand is shaking.

"I don't know," She says with a shake of her head. "I just hope she recovers quickly. A-and that the others are okay too." Blake adds the last part as a second thought, her mind was too centred on Yang's condition. Weiss rests her hand on Blake's, the shaking slowing down slightly. "I just... I just hope they're all safe." Blake's voice becomes unsteady as she finishes her sentence.

"I sure they are," Weiss reassures her. "This is Yang we're talking about, she's too stubborn to fall down so quickly." Blake nods hesitantly. She knows her partner better than anyone else, Yang will be fine.

_She has to be._ They still have so much to say to each other, to confess, to fight for. Yang knows this, she won't leave suddenly, right?

_Right?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy my trash please.

Ruby and co had to leave Atlas early. They made little progress through the academy, every way they went lead to another room. After getting lost for the eighth time, Weiss' Scroll went off. She got a call from Jaune, with the message that it was an emergency. Weiss dialled Jaune back, feeling anxious. Not even an hour ago did Yang's Aura deplete to halfway, along with Oscar's that Nora checked just after. Both of their Aura was either fully drained or close to being so. Blake nearly had a panic attack when Yang's got lower than a quarter, barely 18% was left.

_I knew we shouldn't have separated. I knew this would happen, I'm such an idiot._ Blake was unable to stop the increasing amount of depressive thoughts running through her head. Her mind kept returning to _that night_ all those years ago; the night when everything went wrong.

After hopping in a ship and figuring out the location of their missing companions, the six of them flew down to Mantle. While May took control of operating the craft, the others were preparing themselves for what they might see. Nora was quietly calming herself, taking deep breaths to level her mind. Jaune said to Weiss that Oscar was stolen by a Grimm and that Ren was casing after it. The Grimm was most likely taking Oscar to Salem, so she can have Ozpin for whatever reason.

And Nora hasn't felt this angry in a while. Not since she argued with Ironwood before he turned Mantle into a police state. If Ozpin had just not taken over the body of a _child,_ maybe he'd be more prepared to deal with Salem.

With a sigh, Nora pushes those thoughts out of her head. She can think about Ozpin and Ironwood's madness later, just not now. Rubbing her temples, she glances at her distressed friends. Penny and Weiss were sitting either side of Ruby, holding her gently. This reminded Nora of when the two partners did it to Penny just after they escaped Atlas. During then, and even now, the three look peaceful as they embrace each other tightly. Ruby opens her eyes and looks at Nora with a tired smile. In return, the older huntress gives Ruby a knowing smile, her head nodding to where Weiss and Penny sit next to her. Ruby's face burns red, but she doesn't deny what Nora silently suggested. After watching Ruby nuzzle closer into Weiss' arms, Nora turns to check on Blake.

The Faunus was resting on the ground with her back against the wall. Even though her head was facing down, Nora knew Blake had a feeling of despair in her eyes. Slowly kneeling down in front of her, Nora places a hand on Blake's shoulder. Her ears twitched, but Blake made no other movement. A second passes before Nora wraps her arms around Blake's body. After a moment, just after she becomes tense, Blake hesitantly accepts it, dropping her head on Nora's shoulder. Though muffled, Blake speaks.

"Will she be okay?" Her voice was so gentle, so broken, _so delicate_ ; Nora almost started to cry. She sounded so much like Nora when Oscar when missing, or whenever Ren got hurt. It felt familiar. And even with the lack of a name, Nora knows who Blake's referring to.

"I'm sure she will," Nora feels Blake's arms wrap around her back, grasping there tightly. "Yang's strong. She'll be up and ready in no time." Blake pulls back a bit to look Nora in the eye. Her yellow eyes showed nothing but fear and worry.

"Promise?" Nora knew that she couldn't count on anything, especially not now. Everything was unexpected, too unknowing for the future. But for now, she will ensure that Yang is safe.

"I promise." Behind her, Nora hears May call out that they've reached the crater. With a rocky landing, they step back in the area where thousands of Mantle citizens are staying, where the smell of ash and dirt fill every crevice. Stepping off the ship, they see Fiona waving them over from a tent. As they walk toward her, Nora tangles her fingers with Blake's, rubbing her thumb on her knuckles in a comforting way. The Faunus does it back.

Just as they all reach Fiona, Joanna opens the fly of the tent and steps out. She gives them an uneasy expression. Her hazel coloured eyes hover on Blake before she starts talking.

"I see you got Jaune's message," May nods. Joanna steps out the tent, but her body blocks seeing inside it. "Good." She shuffles on her feet, so does Fiona. May narrows her eyes at them.

"What happened?" Joanna bites her lip and scratches the back of her neck. "Joanna cut the bullshit - _what happened?"_ With a low sigh, Fiona tells them.

"The two in there-" She gestures to the tent. "-or well, Jaune, told us that something took Oscar. Something they couldn't fight against." Blake's head perks up.

"Where's Yang?" Hearing that Jaune was specifically said rather than him _and_ Yang caused an uneasy feeling to grow in Blake's head. "You didn't mention her. Where is she?" Even though she knew she sounded desperate, Blake gave the two huntresses a pleading look.

"She's-" Fiona's ears flicked down. She took a deep breath, hoping that Blake's reaction won't be one of pure negativity. Too many Grimm would come if so. "Yang's fine. But she's hurt and unconscious, she'll need some time to recover from the attack and sleep deprivation she went through." Ruby's body went up in question.

"Attack?"

Fiona looks at the ground. "Yeah. Jaune came back carrying Yang, he won't tell us the whole story of what happened. He asked if he could use the tent, and because of Yang's condition- we let him." Nora felt Blake tense up and squeeze her fingers a little tighter. "He told us that only one person can go in at a time, so he won't be distracted with healing her." Blake stares at Fiona and Joanna. The two look at each other, and they move either side, giving her entrance to the tent.

Without any hesitation, Blake drops Nora's hand and goes in.

From behind her, Weiss gives her an almost pitying look.

* * *

Though from the outside the tent looks to have barely any light, the inside was well illuminated. Candles and small gas lamps lit up the small room as they sat on tables and stools. Maps and spare Dust lay on the table, all askew with their placement.

But Blake had other things to think about.

It was hard to not see the two other people at the far end of the tent. With Jaune's stiff, upright posture and Yang's body lying outstretched on a bed in front of him, having your eyes lock onto them was nearly impossible. Jaune's hands were hovering over Yang's body, his Semblance slowly healing her bruises. Obviously hearing the tent open, Jaune's head moves to acknowledge it, but he doesn't take his eyes off of Yang. "What do you need? If it's you, Joanna, take the back up Dust from the table, I don't need it." 

"Not Joanna," Jaune's hands stop. His head snaps up at Blake, his eyes wide and full of surprise. He stands up, almost knocking his chair down.

"You're here," Jaune says with disbelief in his voice. "That was quick." He adds quietly, just loud enough for Blake's sensitive hearing to pick up.

"Hmm," Blake still hasn't looked directly at Yang yet, only from the corner of her eyes she can see her golden hair glowing in the light. Jaune seems to get what Blake is hinting at. His hands hover over her one last time, giving her Aura a small amplification. As he walks past Blake, Jaune places a hand on her shoulder then leans in.

"We saw a lot. If she wakes up, be careful of what you say. But it should be fine; she has al lot of painkillers in her system. I doubt Yang'll know what your talking about." With that, he steps out, closing the tent. Blake didn't fully understand what he meant by 'they saw a lot', but maybe Yang can try and tell her when she wakes up.

_If,_ a cold, familiar voice whispers in her mind. _If she wakes up._ Even after Adam's death, he can still affect Blake when she least expects it. But it's been weeks since shes last thought of him, Blake won't let him corrupt her mind again.

The sound of a soft whimper catches Blake's attention. Knowing who it came from, Blake takes a deep breath and walks toward the other person in the room.

Yang had a pained look on her face; her eyes were squeezed shut, short gasps of air came out her mouth. She arm, the flesh one, gripped the sheets so much so that her nails dug into her palm. Studying at her face once over, the Faunus saw dried, flaking blood on Yang's forehead. Some of her blonde hair was stained red due to it.

Taking a leap of faith, Blake cupped Yang's cheeks with her hands. After a second, it gave results. Yang's breathing started to even out; her fingers untangled from the sheets. But most of all, her eyes peeked open. Small slivers of lavender greeted Blake, unfocused and full of tears.

"Blake?" A cold metal hand touched Blake's exposed forearm, the tips of Yang's fingers danced on her skin lightly. "That you?" Her hand moved weakly to Blake's face, resting on her cheek. Though it was cold, Blake nuzzled into it, finding a warm feeling go through her heart. "It _is_ you. Only you do that." A tired, happy smile stretched across Yang's lips. It took all of Blake's willpower to not kiss her. Yang starts to lightly rub Blake's hair in between her fingers.

"That's right Yang, it's me," Blake's starts to gently stroke her thumb over the blonde's skin, Yang, in turn, leans into her touch. Blake brushes Yang's tears out of her eyes, her fingertips becoming slightly wet due to it. "Go back to sleep, sunshine." And Yang does, but not without one more weak smile. As her eyes close, her metal hand is placed back down to her side by Blake, who just now, realises she has to return back to Atlas with the others.

With a heavy heart, Blake pulls her hands away from Yang's face. She stands up and goes to step out of the tent, but she feels like she has to do something first. Turning around, Blake walks back to Yang's side. For a second, she does nothing. Until she leans down, pushes Yang's bangs up and places a lingering kiss on her forehead.

Blake can't remember the number of times she's thought of doing that. From their Beacon days to Argus to Atlas, Blake has always wanted to do something to show her care and love for Yang. And though the brawler was asleep, Blake likes to think Yang knew what her partner just did.

And as Blake exits the tent, she doesn't know that Yang's smile grew a little wider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed. Please leave a comment!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment, it gives me a reason to write and stuff. So like... please? Anyhow, Episode 2, what a ride. It was so painful to watch Oscar be maimed. rip to him I guess


End file.
